Allotments 4 All

Peas can be started much earlier.  They can take a bit of frost.  So can broad beans.  French beans and runnerbeans are warm weather only crops.  The slightest bit of frost and they are gone.  Likewise I haven't planted any French beans outside yet either.  But my French beans in little pots are hardening off in the greenhouse where they are safe from slight frosts.  If we get a harder frost (anxious look at the weather forecast daily!) they can come indoors again for the night.

My peas have been out for weeks and they are starting to scramble up the supports.  Hope none of us will get a damaging late frost.   

It's a good time to start French and runner beans indoors or possibly even outdoors after soaking or chitting perhaps.
It's a cold week in England but I don't know whether it's the same in Wales. In eastern England the ground is still quite dry and this week's predicted rain will be useful.

I haven't yet started runners, nor french, maybe will do so this week.

I do have peas coming up in pots (patchy germination/critters on plot in previous years).. so we'll see how they'll do this year.

Will need to transplant my broad beans; started them off in loo roll inners... Looking good so far. Not notched yet...

Sweet peas, only one pot of them have germinated and I've planted them out.

Quote from: Debs on April 29, 2026, 13:47:02So, I've had the plot since end Jan 2025. It was overgrown, some of it covered in black plastic, and some parts (walkways?) were carpeted 😣
I initially cleared sections, sowed seed, entered the annual allotment show for fun and received 3 1st placings for potatoes, home-made tomato chutney and sweetcorn ( the judge said it was the best he'd ever seen at the show!)
I've pruned a large overgrown apple tree which has responded well so far (🙏), tripped into a small very overgrown pond which I hadn't seen, but which now is cleared and has frogs and a newt ( hopefully more)
The soil is friable and seems really good, but has mares tail which I'm slowly digging out to reduce it
I picked the plot ( despite it being overgrown), as it has a greenhouse, potting shed and apple tree! Once I'd begun clearing, I found gooseberries and raspberries and other plants, which was fantastic
There's still lots to do, but I love it and go as often as work & life allows
It's a great spot with a resident pheasant, bird song and other wildlife (some not so welcome!)
It's my little piece of heaven 😊

That sounds like a great start, Debs. Fancy growing well enough to win prizes in your first year! And it sounds like a gift of a site. Well chosen!

Quote from: Debs on April 28, 2026, 17:01:48*Tomato 'Gazzi yellow egg' ( grown and seed collected last year) received from Markfield Rover in the seed circle 2016

wow, I too put these gazi-yellow-egg seeds into chitting  after 10 years, they seems not sprouting yet. good to know someone got success already.

and all oea seeds from him also into ground , if any of them come up, thinking of saving the mix in his name :)

So, I've had the plot since end Jan 2025. It was overgrown, some of it covered in black plastic, and some parts (walkways?) were carpeted 😣
I initially cleared sections, sowed seed, entered the annual allotment show for fun and received 3 1st placings for potatoes, home-made tomato chutney and sweetcorn ( the judge said it was the best he'd ever seen at the show!)
I've pruned a large overgrown apple tree which has responded well so far (🙏), tripped into a small very overgrown pond which I hadn't seen, but which now is cleared and has frogs and a newt ( hopefully more)
The soil is friable and seems really good, but has mares tail which I'm slowly digging out to reduce it
I picked the plot ( despite it being overgrown), as it has a greenhouse, potting shed and apple tree! Once I'd begun clearing, I found gooseberries and raspberries and other plants, which was fantastic
There's still lots to do, but I love it and go as often as work & life allows
It's a great spot with a resident pheasant, bird song and other wildlife (some not so welcome!)
It's my little piece of heaven 😊

Thanks Debs for the detail. I hope your growing goes well this season. How is it going with your allotment? Is it hard work to pull it round or was it in quite good condition when you took it over?
We look forward to having you in the circle.

Hi JanG,

*Pea Blauschokker (purple podded) recently planted out in     my allotment
*Climbing French bean 'Viola Cornetti'
 received from Galina in the seed circle 2016 (grown & seed collected last year)
*Tomato 'Gazzi yellow egg' ( grown and seed collected last year) received from Markfield Rover in the seed circle 2016

Also, (if anyone is interested), I'll put in the pea from 2016 which was believed to be 'sharpe's express' 
Debs

A number of years ago we had a very tame blackbird.  Saw me in the garden and 'demanded' I dig some worms for him.  Followed me everywhere for food, off to the nest to feed the young and back again.  When I had gooseberry sawfly, he followed me into the fruit cage and helped himself to them.  When I went out, he followed out again.  Same the next day.  Until they were gone!  Unfortunately blackbirds only live for two years.  This one was unusually tame. I guess picking the sawfly off and dropping them near a blackbird's nest will see them gone fast too. 

Pesticide free way to go!